Greg Awtry

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and nothing can bring that closer to home than a tragedy that occurred last week in my hometown of Cozad, Nebraska. This is a small rural town of about 4,000 people. It’s a tight-knit town where most people know most people. Like most small communities, much of Cozad’s activities revolve around school activities, sports, plays, concerts, and last week, graduation.

Bailey and Jeremy Koch met in high school, fell in love, married, and were raising two children, one who was set to graduate in a couple of days. Jeremy, the father, was suffering from severe mental health issues, struggling with thoughts of suicide. His wife, Bailey, a special education teacher, was devoting all of her time and energy getting treatment for Jeremy, who she affectionately called “Hottie Hubby”. To bring the entire mental health crisis to the forefront, she created a Facebook page titled “Anchoring Hope” for Mental Health. Day after day, she would honestly tell her followers of Jeremy’s treatment, successes, and failures.

In one of her last posts, she wrote, “The paperwork for Jeremy’s mental health battle will be submitted today. We spent over an hour going through every aspect of our 16-year journey of ups and downs, failures and fears, and celebrations related to Hottie Hubby’s suicidal ideations, attempts, and hospitalizations.”

The day before that, Bailey wrote, “I wish I had better news, as Jeremy was so happy to be released from the mental health hospital yesterday to go home in time for our oldest son’s high school graduation on Saturday.”

On the morning of graduation day, Saturday, May 10, 2025, authorities were dispatched to the Koch’s house where they found unbelievable tragedy. Inside were Jeremy and Bailey and their two sons, all deceased. The Nebraska State Patrol reported after a preliminary investigation that 42-year-old Jeremy had killed both of his sons and his wife before taking his own life.

One can only imagine the shock and pain that rifled through the community. Things like this don’t happen here. How could this have been prevented? Why couldn’t more have been done? All these and many more questions surfaced. This family was doing everything right, getting the treatment they needed, advocating for mental health issues, involving many people to help in their struggles. The answers may never be known.

But what we do know is that our nation is in the midst of a mental health crisis. According to Mental Health America, 21% of American adults are experiencing some form of mental illness. That’s over 50 million people, and 28% of those do not receive treatment.

And that is why May, since 1949, has been designated Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s a tiny window of time for all of us to become more aware of the problems so many of our friends and neighbors are going through and to seek ways to better treat this disease. In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in mental health issues, especially in our youth. Some speculated it was what they went through during the COVID pandemic, the harmful effects of social media, or adults who simply cannot afford to get the necessary help.

Some of the things we do know were reported by PEW Research. They said we have effective treatments, yet relatively few people receive them. Why? Their answer is, “the lack of capacity, too few therapists, too few hospital beds and intensive outpatient programs, too little access to medication-assisted treatment for people with opiate addiction.” And then there is the fact of denial, in which case the disease goes untreated.

I am certainly not an expert, but it seems to me we need to put a lot more investment in treatment programs and identification processes so we can detect and treat mental illness earlier in one’s life. We need to recognize the crisis by encouraging more people to get into the treatment profession, if for no other reason than preventing the tragedy that unfolded in Cozad last week.

An entire family is gone. An entire community is reeling in despair. In the Koch family, they were doing everything they could, yet something, somewhere broke down, and this is why we need to do even more. Life is both fragile and fleeting, and to lose a family that was doing everything possible, begs for additional research and treatment.

My heart goes out to the fine people of Cozad, Nebraska. I pray they find the strength to help them through this. Jeremy was unable to find his peace, yet still held out hope. His loving wife Bailey, with her overwhelming dedication, always held on to hope, and her maybe page “Anchoring Hope” will inspire more to seek treatment, and to bring more awareness to this crisis.

Rest in Peace, Jeremy, Bailey, and your two sons, knowing you all fought a courageous battle and gave us hope that we can use your love, dedication, and strength to continue your quest to get all those who need it the treatment and help to improve their lives. God be with you.

If you know of anyone who may need help through life’s difficult times, please remember the Koch family’s heroic efforts and seek out help for those in need. gregawtry@awtry.com

Greg Awtry is the former publisher of the Scottsbluff (Neb.) Star-Herald and Nebraska’s York News-Times. He is now retired and living in Hubbard Lake. Greg can be contacted at gregawtry@awtry.com.